FlightCom Magazine 29
Aircraft Headsets
For over 50 years, Peltor has led development in protec-
tion and communication for anyone who spends time in
noisy environments. All headsets in the Aviation 8000
series have ambient noise compensated differential
microphones. The earphones have a broad frequency
range for good sound reduction in Fixed Wing Aircraft and
Helicopters.Ground Power Unit
You can depend on Hobart for full support of your aircraft’s
power requirements AC or DC. Hobart has earned the rep-
utation of being the “standard” in the industry, trusted for
the superior power quality and excellent durability.The Red Box RB Series
These man-portable GPU’s use the latest in dry lead acid
military / aviation technology which offers many valuable
features. Very rugged, they can be operated, stored
or transported in any orientation, even inverted. Safely
transported in aircraft, land or sea, they produce massive
power for comparatively low weight and small size. They
hold their charge for long periods when on standby or in
storage.Eagle Tow Tug
Nothing moves you like an Eagle tug. Designed and built
to meet the varying demands of regional airlines, corporate
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series All-Wheel Drive aircraft tractors pack a lot of power
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provides safe controlled traction on all surface conditions.Tel: (011) 8054720
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Email: [email protected]C W Price & CoC W Price & CoC W Price & Co
220C engine, to RPV-2B for the IAI Scout 800s delivered in 1984.
Project names included ‘Gharra’, ‘Cobalt’ and ‘Leghorn’. By 1986 the
SAAF had reformed 10 Squadron at AFB Potchefstroom to operate
the aircraft, replacing the ‘ad hoc’ arrangement that had been used
up until then. All the variants appear to have been administered as
the RC-2/4 Medium Range Battlefield Surveillance System.
These UAVs saw extensive combat duty all over the southern
African theatre, from Mozambique to Angola, between 1980 and
1987, performing vital surveillance and artillery spotting work
over hostile airspace too well-defended to risk frequent overflights
from the SAAF’s camera-equipped Mirage IIIRZ & IIIR2Z jets.
Notably, three were lost to surface-to-air missiles. One of the first
five RPV-1B Scouts (2011) was shot down on 30 March 1983 over
Maputo, and the RPV-1Cs 005 and 006 were lost on 8 October 1987
and 26 September 1987 respectively. Although losing the aircraft
was financially painful, the SAAF was ecstatic because it had been
proven that light and slow surveillance UAVs were, nevertheless,
remarkably resilient to enemy surface-to-air missile fire and that,
when they were finally shot down, it was at no cost in human life.
While this was happening the CSIR and Kentron continued
to research and refine UAV designs as successors to the original
Champion, culminating in the launch of the Seeker I system which
was first deployed operationally in 1987. Confusingly, the actual
UAV in the system which included a Ground Control Station was
the Seeker 2B, not to be confused with the later Seeker II system
introduced in the 1990s.
10 Squadron saw combat during Operations Modular and
Hooper in 1987 and Packer in 1988. The Seekers were used for both
tactical surveillance and artillery spotting missions operating from
Mavinga. One Seeker 2B is memorably said to have survived 16 or
17 SA-8 missiles before finally being shot down during a mission on
21 September 1987 as it overflew a large concentration of Angolan
forces.
- The flight crew consisted of the following personnel:
- External Pilot – Flight control during take-off and landing
only. - Internal Pilot – Flight control during entire mission except
for take-off and landing. - Mission Commander – Mission planning, coordination
and control, and communication and tracking of the RPV
during mission. - Observer/Mission Payload Operator – Payload control,
target acquisition, surveillance and data recording
All except the External Pilot were in the command truck/GCS
for the flight. The External Pilot would stand at the runway’s edge
and conduct a visual take-off of the Seeker 2 and then hand over
control to the Internal Pilot. On landing, the External Pilot would
again position himself at the runway edge and assume control of the
inbound UAV and land it once visual contact had been established.
Typical operational ceiling was between 15,000 and 18,000 feet with
short-range missions having an endurance of 9-10 hours and long-
range missions out to around 200 km (the maximum line-of-sight
range from the ground station) having an endurance of 4-5 hours.
For the first time in 24
years, the SAAF will once
again operate its own
UAVs.